The Little Things
by gleek-tay
Summary: "But why do you want me? I don't understand." "It's the little things about you, Hermione."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is going to start out in the trio's fifth year in Hogwarts. I plan on spanning this over the rest of the books and a little after, though I don't intend on it being overly long. Hermione/Fred pairing. Now a disclaimer that I own nothing, though sometimes I wish I did. Read and review please. I love constructive criticism, so tell me what you liked and didn't. I'd like to get a little feedback before publishing chapter two so I can tweak it. Thanks for reading; on with the show!**

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><p>Of course the library would be closed on the one night that she really needed it. Her transfiguration paper was due in mere hours and she still had over half of it to finish. The reference section on transforming inanimate objects into animals was simply the best around, and now she didn't have access to it because of two well known pranksters, and unfortunately well-loved also, otherwise she would have hexed them into oblivion. She didn't want to be on the receiving end of a jinx from one of their many admirers, so she kept to screaming at them and ordering them to detention.<p>

_Get it together, Granger, _her inner-monologue told her. _You have enough resources to get you through this one time. _

Hermione took off at a brisk pace toward the Gryffindor tower, her hair blowing backwards from the wind she was creating at her pace. She bumped into a few people several times on her journey, the last of which caused her to drop her bag containing all her school work all over the corridor and a few books slid down the stairs. _Of course this would happen. Tonight of all nights, _she thought silently as she began to collect her belongings and stuff them into her bag as people walked by and kicked her quills further down the corridor.

"Jerks," she muttered, barely audible.

"Oi, Granger! Did you lose something?"

She closed her eyes tightly before turning slowly to face the unavoidable. She opened her eyes cautiously, and gasped at the sight at the bottom of the stairs. Fred and George Weasley with her books, her _school_ books. They each had their wands out, levitating her potions book and, oh no, her transfiguration book over the edge of the stairs. If they decided to drop them, her books, her essay, her grades, and her pride would all be lost in a matter of a few seconds.

"Haven't you two given me enough grief for one night? Kindly return my books," she stated curtly, her eyes traveling from her hostage books to the twins' identical grins.

"Oh Hermione, you know us better than that," George said with a wink.

"Yeah," Fred agreed, "Besides, you gave us a detention. Not that we really care too much since we can torment ol' Filch, but that's beyond the point."

"You took precious time away from us that we could be using to create some new products, or scare a little first year."

"So you want me to take back the detention I gave you?" she asked, her anger rising with every word they spoke, "No way. You _deserved _it! I can't believe that you hung that third year by his ankles in the middle of the Great Hall! It was completely barbaric of you both!"

They chuckled and lowered their wands, causing her books to drop a little lower. She let out a frightened squeak and stormed down the stairs, only to stop halfway when they lowered their wands even more.

"Please don't! I need those for my homework," she said, her voice shaking from fear.

"Take away our detention and you get your precious books back," Fred stated simply, his grin broadening.

"Oh all right!" she finally gave in. The Weasley twins looked at each other triumphantly before levitating her books to the safety of the stairs and dropping them with a small _plop_.

Hermione stood stunned for a moment before scurrying down the stairs to retrieve her books and quills. When she stood up, she expected them to have gone, but they were standing on either side of her, still with that silly grin plastered to their faces.

She had lost her temper now, "What? What could you possibly do more to torture me tonight?"

George reached forward and ruffled the top of her hair, which earned him a glare only rivaled by his mother and Ginny.

Fred gave a half-hearted sigh before saying, "I do enjoy tearing the mickey out of our favorite prefect, don't you Brother?"

"Couldn't agree more." And with that they left her and turned the way they had come. She rolled her eyes and returned on her path to the tower. The last look she saw in Fred's eyes unnerved her. They were planning something, she was sure of it. But how dare they distract her like that when she had more important things to accomplish? This was her education they were messing with, and she did not have to stand for it. She vowed that someday she would get even with them for how they treated her, she just didn't know how.

She maneuvered through people and safely climbed through the portrait hole, only to be greeted by Harry and Ron. She groaned a little too loud as they approached her. She really was thankful that she had friends, but sometimes she just longed for the kind of closeness that could only come with same-sex friendships. Hermione was not known for getting along with girls because she was too uptight about everything; she was not willing to gossip, kiss-and-tell, or any of that other foolish nonsense that teenage girls participated in. Those things were far too distracting in her opinion, but she did long for someone that she could giggle momentarily about her crushes on boys, and how she had caught a boy staring at her; though this would be a lie on Hermione's part because, in her eyes, she was almost as attractive as a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

"Where have you been," Harry started, "We've been waiting for you for over an hour."

"It's time for dinner, and I'm _starving_. So c'mon!" Ron yelled the last part as he headed out the portrait hole.

She shook her head disapprovingly; he was such a glutton. "I ran into a little trouble-no, no I took care of it," she added when a surge of anger whipped through Harry's eyes.

"Was it Malfoy? Did you catch him sneaking about? Did I tell you about what I saw on the Marau-"

"No it was not, and yes you did tell me. Go on to dinner without me; I have too much homework to finish and time is not on my side." Hermione thought of how handy a time turner would have been today, but sadly, she had given hers up two years ago. Harry gave her one last questioning look and she reassured him she was fine and had a few snacks in her room if she got hungry. He left her in peace in the now empty common room where she settled on the red velvet, overstuffed couch and tucked her legs underneath her body. Hermione pulled her supplies out of her bag before she thought back to the strange look she had seen in Fred's eyes before he and George left. Something about it didn't settle quite right in her mind, but she would have to think of that later, now it was time for homework.

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><p>Fred and George sat in the Great Hall for dinner piling food onto their plates. They were surrounded by their close friends and a few love-struck girls as always. George looked absently at Fred while taking a large bite of anything his fork picked up.<p>

He swallowed before saying, "So Brother, tell me when you fell head over bullocks for Hermione."

Fred nearly choked on his large bite of Shepard's pie. "What? I'm not. It's not like that. I don't-"he stammered catching the attention of a few of their friends, namely the twins' sidekick, Lee Jordan.

"Oh, so you noticed that too, eh George? I first noticed a few weeks ago as he watched her climb the stair to her dormitory. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head when her knickers showed out of the bottom of her skirt on the higher step!" Lee said laughing loudly.

"Oh shut it, you two. I don't have a 'thing' for Hermione," Fred said using his fingers as quotes around the word 'thing.' Both Lee and George looked at him disbelievingly. Fred sighed before his signature grin returned to his face.

"Honestly. I may have noticed that our little shabby friend is turning to a well-fortified woman, and I am simply admiring the view, that's all."

Lee broke out into a riotous laugh, as did the rest of their group, though those on the outside had no idea what the joke had been. "Admiring the view. That's a good one. Let's see you say that to her."

Fred joined in on the laugh, but he secretly hoped what he said never did get back to Hermione. Because he did have a 'thing' for her, he just wasn't quite sure what it was yet.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I think I know how I'm going to deal with this story now. Thanks for the review TheNovelReality! Not a shabby idea, but now time for chapter two, so let's see where this thing is headed!**

The next afternoon Hermione found herself alone yet again in the common room. Whenever Ron wasn't running off to eat in the Great Hall, he was running off to stalk his latest obsession, and right now his crush was on Hannah Abbott. At this moment, it was the latter. Harry had snuck off some time ago complaining of a headache, and Hermione couldn't help but feel a little jealous at her abandonment of her two best friends. She also felt that cold sting of jealousy when she saw Ron chasing after some girl who cared absolutely nothing about him. She had always been attracted to him, but lately, he had become entirely insufferable. He was always asking her for favors, mostly homework related, but he would never return it on anything she ever asked him, even if it was a simple as passing her a quill. He was too engrossed in his lusts than to care to open his eyes and see what was in front of him, which was entirely too cliché in her eyes.

She scooted closer to the side of the couch and closed her eyes. Although the room wasn't entirely empty, it was quiet for the most part, and she reveled in the near silence. Her breathing had just started to even out when she felt the cushion next to her shift. That usually meant someone had sat down next to her. She groaned inwardly before opening her eyes to find George's face dangerously close to hers.

She squealed before pushing him away. "Merlin, George! Have you ever heard of personal space? You nearly scared the daylights out of me."

He grinned and narrowing his eyes slightly. "You have to admit that it was a pleasant way to wake up."

"Oh honestly! What do you want, may I ask? I already took back your detention, and haven't given you any more."

"I wanted to talk to you about your day," he stated simply.

"No you don't. What do you want?" She asked after dramatically rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. He was still sitting so close to her that she felt entirely self-conscious. She was wearing her Hogwarts sweater which showed absolutely no skin, but that was beyond the point. His proximity to her body made her uncomfortable. She had become increasingly aware of her body after those select few nights she spent with Viktor Krum last year when he was interested in nothing but it.

"Well you talked me into it, Granger. Of course I'll be with you!" George made to leapt onto her, his arms outstretched, but she put hers out to block him as best she could, a smile threatening to break through on her lips. Then she realized something was just a little off.

"Stop it! People will get the wrong idea! I will not have you ruining my reputation, George Weasley. And where's Fred? I've never seen you two alone except when you're serving separate detentions."

"In all honesty, that's what I want to talk to you about." She eyed him curiously, silently telling him to continue. "Well I among many others have noticed his ogling of you has increased dramatically over the past few weeks. However, it seems that I only I have noticed that this seems to be quite serious. So let's face it, Granger, Fred fancies you, so let him down easy, ok? We _all_ know about your relationship with Ickle Ronnie, so just don't hurt him too bad. I personally don't want to deal with it because that whole twins-can-feel-each-others-pain thing is entirely real."

Hermione sat simply stunned by George's blunt confession of his brother's feelings. She opened her mouth several times to respond, but nothing seemed like the best thing to say in this situation. She decided that the best course of action was to look George in the eye and give him a curt nod. He left her alone after that, but, in one of the few times in her life, alone was not what she needed right now. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no one that she could talk to. So, she decided to do one of the few things that Hermione Granger does best: make a list of the pros and cons of the situation she was now faced with.

When she finished, her parchment was over a foot long, and she was still as confused as ever. She had even decided to list her own attributes to figure out the likelihood that George was even telling her the truth. Based on her lists, the answer was that he was playing some kind of prank on her, so therefore, she was not even going to acknowledge what George had said about Fred fancying her as even near the truth, and she was just going to go back to her studies and pretend it had never happened. And that's exactly what she did, or rather tried to do.

While working on ancient runes homework, the unmistakable riotous laughter came through the portrait hole as Fred, George, Lee, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell climbed through. Hermione rolled her eyes and started to pack her books back into her bag to go to the library to finish her homework in peace.

She stood up, glancing over her shoulder at the group now cheering on Lee and Katie in their Wizard's Chess match. Her stomach fell a little when she saw that Fred was not watching the game, but instead watching her. Hermione dropped her eyes to the ground when he winked at her, and she heard him laugh when she exited.

As it was Friday afternoon and most of the classes were over for the weekend, the corridors were filled with students bustling around, laughing loudly. Hermione waded her way through the crowds toward the library. She had almost made it when she heard her name being called over the laughter and conversations of her peers. She turned, but saw no one and continued on her way.

"Oi! Hermione, wait up!"

She turned to see Fred Weasley pushing through a particularly large crowd of third year. He had his hand in the air waving to her so she could see him this time. Sighing, she walked to the side of the corridor and leaned against the wall to wait for him.

He finally reached her, panting slightly. He leaned one hand on the wall beside her as he held his chest. "Bloody hell, woman. You walk like you're on a mission. Headed to the library or something?"

"As a matter of fact, yes I am." A few sixth year girls passed them, giggling behind Fred's back, though he took no notice of them. He just continued to stare at her, making her increasingly self-conscious by the stares they were earning by just looking at each other. "Was there something you needed, Fred. I'm in a little bit of a rush."

"Hermione, it's Friday night. You don't _need_ to go to the library today. Homework isn't due on the weekends."

"I like to get a head start. Anyway, why did you follow me?"

"No reason in particular. I saw you looking at me, so I thought I should probably give you a more of a chance to admire my good looks," he stated with a smirk.

Hermione scoffed, rolled her eyes, and turned to walk away, "Goodbye Fred."

He grabbed her arm and spun her back around, "Wait; let me corrupt you this one Friday night. Don't do your homework now. Come have some fun with me."

"No thanks." She spun on her heel and took three steps away before turning back around. His face looked a little sullen by her rejection. "Hold on a second, did you just ask me out?"

"Of course not. Unless that's what you wanted," he joked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Right about now, Fred Weasley was starting to sweat. His crush on Hermione had begun just this past summer. It was something silly really, and she had done it thousands of times before this, but this time was just slightly different. He and George had decided to prank their mother by causing the dishwater to change to a frighteningly disgusting green color and explode over the entire kitchen. After being lectured by their mother, then had gone outside to de-gnome the garden as their punishment, and were ambushed by Hermione. After she was finished with her 'you-two-are-seventeen-and-need-to-act-like-it' speech, she had smiled and told them that was one of their best pranks yet.

"What? No, I just…Forget I even said anything." Hermione spun again, but this time she didn't turn around. She really needed the comfort of her table in the library to mull things over.

The familiar smell of old books and dust filled her nose when she entered the library and moved toward the back to prepare to begin her latest assignments. Once again, she found she couldn't focus.

She was sure that Fred _had_ asked her on a date with him, just not in a particularly direct fashion. Now that was beyond her intelligence. Book smart, yes. People-smart, no. Hermione had always found all of the Weasley men to be incredibly attractive, though she had always been drawn to Ron because of their age similarity. Fred and George spoke to her on occasion, but it was usually only to torment her. Though she had spent more time with them this past summer when they asked her for a little theoretical advice on a potion they were experimenting with.

But why on Earth would Fred decide to fancy her all of the sudden? She had to admit that although they were increasingly insufferable each day, they did have a unique personality to their own. Both twins seemed so grounded, and though they did enjoy their pranks, when someone needed their help, they were totally loyal. Hermione decided that she had to further her investigation into this subject to find out the truth of this matter, just for the sake of her well-being and the completion of her homework.

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><p><strong>So what do we think about this chapter? I'm trying not to move too quickly into a relationship between them to keep it as in-character as possible. Review, please and thank you!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews! You are awesome! Now this chapter gets the ball rolling a little bit. Enjoy!**

Over the next week, Fred made special care to avoid Hermione at all costs. If he were about to pass her in the corridor, he would duck inside a classroom, lavatory, or, more ideally, a secret passage. If she were in the Great Hall when he arrived, he would head down to the kitchens to eat. Above all, avoiding her in the common room was a pain in the arse. She was always there, studying or laughing with Harry, Ron, and occasionally Ginny.

He knew that he was acting like a love-struck first year, but that was irrelevant to him at the moment. How had she known he was implying a date? Did she know about his crush? What a stupid question; of course she did. Hermione Granger was the brightest witch of this generation; of course she could see when someone fancied her.

George had noticed his twin's change in attitude this past week as well, especially since Fred was entirely against playing any pranks on the fifth year Gryffindors and always looked over his shoulder when they were pranking anyone else.

"What the devil has gotten into you," George had asked Fred last Tuesday.

Fred had looked over his shoulder for the fifth time the past three minutes. "I just think we should be a little more careful now that Umbridge is strutting around like she owns this place," he had responded nervously.

"Bullocks." But George didn't question any further because he had inklings as to what was wrong with his brother. He had seen Fred run after Hermione last Friday, and Fred's sullen face when he had returned to the common room, mumbled some excuse, went up to the dormitory and no one heard from him the rest of the night.

He had mulled over exactly how to approach this problem for the next few days and had finally come up with some solution that involved nothing to do with his brother; no, this would involve his sister. Now Thursday, he finally corned Ginny in the corridor after she had obviously just finished snogging some bloke. That thought made his stomach twist into tight knots, but he said nothing of that for the time being.

George pulled Ginny roughly into a passage as she struggled against his grip.

"Who I snog in entirely none of your business!" she started, not really knowing what her older brother wanted, "So kindly leave me to my business."

"Would you come off it for one second? Although I know you were off with some bloke somewhere, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

Ginny turned her head slightly, brow furrowing. His conversations with her lately were always about who she was and was not snogging. "I'm listening," she said cautiously.

"It's about Hermione."

"What about her?"

"Has she mentioned anything out of the ordinary to you? Possibly about someone fancying her?"

"Oh sweet Merlin, you fancy Hermione!"

"No, it's not me, you dunderhead. Sorry," he added when she glowered at him. His sister could pack a punch and everyone knew it. Not even he wished to be on the receiving end of one of her hexes. "It's Fred."

Ginny stared incredulously at George. "What? There's no way! Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. Do you think I would be talking to you about it if I wasn't? You're smarter than that, Little Sister."

"So she knows then, yeah?" George nodded. "What am I to do about it?"

"I want you to subtly fill her head with Fred, and find out just how strong she cares about our other git of a brother."

Ginny grimaced. "I hadn't even thought of that. He's going to be angry when he finds out. Ron's always talked about her like she belongs to him."

"Leave him to me; I'll deal with that later if we need to. Just do this until Saturday night and tell me what you found out."

Ginny nodded, and then a smile spread across her face. "I realize that this is all cute for you to be interfering, but I'm not one to do that. I'm going to need something in return. I do this for you, and you are to leave me be about any boyfriends I may acquire for the rest of the year."

George huffed, and then nodded realizing that he had no way out of making a deal with Ginny. She smiled wider then turned to leave ready to fulfill her obligation to her brother.

First, Ginny checked the library, being the most obvious location to find Hermione on an afternoon. However she was entirely surprised when she found not Hermione among the tomes, but her brother, Fred. She took a second to recover from the shock of seeing him sitting in the farthest corner of the library in one of the stiff leather chairs with his body bent over and his head in his hands.

Fred didn't even hear his sister approach him; he was so lost in thought. Of course he was thinking about Hermione, but he was also thinking of their past summer together at Grimmauld Place. After she had lectured him and his brother, he found himself craving her company more often than not. At meals he would try is best to sit beside her, though she seemed to not even notice his change in attitude toward her. He always tried to be near her when they were told to clean the house, but once again he couldn't even begin to strike up a meaningless conversation with the brunette.

"I didn't even know you knew where this place was. Though it does make since considering you've been chasing Hermione around for quite some time now as I understand it."

Fred looked up slowly and groaned. He didn't even care to ask her how she knew; apparently it was public knowledge now. "Not that I wouldn't love a chat with my baby sister about the debacle that has become my love life, but perhaps you could just move on and find Corner."

"Wow, you've got it bad, Fred," Ginny whispered taking a seat at Fred's feet. "Have you tried simply telling her about this? I'm sure it would save you quite a few headaches."

He looked at Ginny mockingly. "No I hadn't thought of that. You just solved all my problems." Pausing for a moment, he took a shallow breath, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't take this out on you."

Ginny stood up and hugged her brother's shoulders tightly. "Really, go talk to her. Hermione's a great listener." Then she paused before smacking him on top of his head. "Next time I won't be so forgiving. Go talk to her. Now."

Ginny turned and left Fred alone again, hoping that she had done enough to please George although she had not spoken to Hermione. Getting Fred to talk to her would be enough, she hoped.

Fred sat alone for a few more moments contemplating what Ginny had said. He knew that he was acting ridiculous, but she might have a point. Sure, Hermione Granger was intimidating as hell, but she was just a girl. He knew why he didn't want to just talk to her. Fred Weasley had never been rejected by anyone in his entire seventeen year existence. He was sure that was going to happen and he did not want to feel that sting. Still, when she did reject him, he could move on and finally get back to being himself.

Now that was the best thought he had had in the past several days. Standing up and straightening his trousers, he set out for the Gryffindor common room. He knew where Hermione would be because he had been avoiding the tower all day. Still, he lost his nerve twice, turning around then deciding to just get it over with and turned again. He had first developed this bloody crush about five months ago, and now was the time to get it out of his system.

He saw her sitting between Harry and Ron. _Bloody fantastic_ he thought before taking a very deep breath. He took a few more steps and stood behind the couch the trio was perched on. He could tell that Harry was droning on about something because Ron was examining his fingernails and Hermione's fingers were twitching to open the book lying in her lap.

"Hey, Granger," he called raising his voice only slightly; maybe he hoped she just wouldn't hear him. She turned around, and small smile forming at the corners of her mouth. "A word please?" She nodded, excusing herself from her two best friends. Ron stared after her, wishing he had an escape as well.

As soon as she reached him, he jerked his head toward the portrait hole and turned, as she nodded and followed him. He traveled a decent distance away from the tower, but there was no way to be completely alone for this.

"Fred, have you gone barmy? Why are we going all this way?" she asked, out of breath from attempting to keep up with his brisk strides. He stopped in front of a statue that a few second years were already congregating around. He jerked his head again and they quickly scurried away. "I really wish you wouldn't treat those poor children that way," Hermione said briskly.

Now he was already off to a bad start. How was he supposed to start this? He leaned against the wall with his hands stuffed deep into his trouser pockets. Looking down, he opened his mouth to start but lost his words again. She simply stood in front of him, waiting patiently for him to say whatever he needed to.

"You know maybe I have gone barmy, Hermione, I don't know," he said with a little grin, taking a chance to finally look her in the eye, those beautiful brown eyes. "Erm, I just…" He should not have looked at her face.

Rubbing the back of his now hot neck, he grinned again, only this time it was a nervous grin. _Just spit it out!_ his thoughts screamed at him. This was stupid.

"Look Hermione, I, uh, think I fancy you," he said quietly.

She nodded very slowly, though all thoughts of this being some sort of prank quickly left her thoughts. Either Fred Weasley was the best actor ever, or he was being very sincere with her right now. She sighed and smiled encouragingly. She had never seen him be so genuine, so open; he was always the jokester, and now here was, standing in front of her so vulnerable.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it," she began gently, "But I'm not entirely sure I can say the same to you. I would be completely lying if I said that I didn't find you extremely handsome, but how would a relationship work between us?"

Fred had grinned widely when she said she thought he was handsome, but now his face dropped. She was right. How in the world would they ever work out together? He nodded as she looked at the ground.

"Maybe if you spent more time with me, we could figure this out," Fred said, his courage coming back a little bit.

Hermione considered the thought for a moment before agreeing with one stipulation: they would be spending time together, but these times would not be dates until they completely figured out where they stood with each other. Fred agreed reluctantly and they set back off toward the tower together.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So this one is just a little shorter than others, but I promise it's good! I've been rewatching the Harry Potter movies this weekend, and I am happy to report that Hermione always seems to be standing or sitting next to one of the twins. I feel like this furthers this shipping arguement.**

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><p>The month of December came and went. Whenever Fred and Hermione weren't with their usual friends, they were with each other. They would talk, play games, and once Hermione even let Fred take her to the Room of Requirement and have a picnic. She was determined that these times they spent together were not dates, but deep inside, she wished they were.<p>

As she had already admitted, she had always found Fred to be handsome, but it went much deeper than that. Last year after he and George had been rejected by the Goblet of Fire, she started to appreciate their personalities instead of only judge them for how childish they acted. Even though she hated to admit it, she had developed feelings for Fred last year when she let her guard down to the twins. She had even gotten jealous when Fred went to the Yule Ball with Angelina Johnson. It was impossible to get over the irony of their current situation when she thought about it.

Unfortunately for Fred, he had no idea about her feelings for him last year. He also had no idea that he had ruined his chances with her before he even decided he should have one. When he asked Angelina to the Ball, Hermione had decided that she didn't stand a chance in hell to win the boys affections and had quickly shut herself off from him. Though this past summer at Grimmauld Place certainly brought back several of those emotions, but it all made sense now. She knew now that Fred had fancied her over the summer and his constant lingering around her finally made sense.

It wasn't a secret that the two were spending time with each other either. Lavender Brown had found out the first week and couldn't wait to tell everyone who would listen to her. Hermione had nearly had to hold Ron back from attacking his brother; he only stopped when she insisted that she was only being polite and didn't harbor the same feelings as Fred did. Everyone else in the school thought it was just some joke that the twins were playing and that Fred was actually trying to make some other girl jealous by using Hermione. Katie Bell was winning that poll as to who the real girl Fred fancied was.

Fred met Hermione in the library Wednesday afternoon like always and they studied together. Well, Hermione studied while Fred kept glancing up to watch her. He would watch the way her rebellious hair fell around her face as she desperately kept pushing it back, and he would watch her small delicate hands as she scribbled notes onto parchment. He would even make an excuse every now and then that he needed her help with something just so he could listen to her voice instead of the constant quill scratches.

Today, Hermione closed her book and looked up at Fred, who appeared to be focusing on this Transfiguration essay. He had actually just looked down when she closed her book.

"Are you finished?" she whispered so as not to disturb the others mulling around the library.

He nodded and put his spell book inside his bag. Hermione stood, indicating that he should follow her. Fred followed her anxious as to if she had finally made her decision regarding her feelings. She turned the corner into the next corridor and stopped.

"Fred, I don't think we should be doing this anymore."

His heart fell and his stomach knotted. "So you've made your decision then?"

"Yes, in a way," she murmured, looking at the ground, "I don't think we can be anything more than friends."

"I personally didn't think things were going that bad."

"No, no, it's not that at all. I just…I don't know how to explain it."

Fred took a second then nodded. "I can." He crossed his arms over this chest. "You fancy my brother more than me."

Hermione jerked her head up. "I didn't say that. I said I don't think we _can_ not that I didn't _want_ to. Out of all my lists, not one thing points to us being able to make a relationship work."

"Well, if you had let me take you on dates, then maybe you would have come to a better conclusion," he joked, though his stomach was still twisting in knots.

Hermione turned as if to walk always then spun around, her hair flying into a mane around her face. "You know as well as I do that this would never work." When she said 'this,' she flung her hands forward indicating the space between them, her frustration with the situation clearly showing through.

Fred thought for a moment then took a step forward. "Give me a shot, Hermione," he said quietly causing goose bumps to rise on her flesh. She shook her head, looking at the ground. He grinned and took another small step forward, closing the space between them.

Hermione felt his hand on her cheek, pushing a curl away. She looked up into his eyes, not exactly sure what she saw in them. She bit her lower lip and shook her head once more. "It could never work."

Fred leaned down, pressing his lips gently to hers. The hand still on her cheek made its way to her hair, pushing the same annoying strand back. He was going to pull away when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer to her, pressing her lips harder to his. Never in his wildest dreams did he actually believe this would happen, especially when she had just finished telling him that she didn't want to be with him. He pulled away first, out of breath, took a brief pause then leaned down again.

This time he pressed his lips hard to hers and pulled her as close as possible to him. Fred felt her hands running through his hair; now that felt fantastic. He brushed the tips of his fingers lightly against her bare arm causing her to shiver. Then Hermione opened her lips slightly, making him nearly groan. He pressed his tongue into her mouth slowly at first, and then become a little rougher as the time passed. Neither wanted to stop, but they did need to breathe. They pulled apart, Fred grinning widely.

Hermione looked up at Fred again, her eyes wide. She hadn't meant to do that; she had meant to push him away, but her heart got the best of her brain. Uncoiling her arms from his neck, she took a small step backwards, shaking her head once more.

"Why did you have to complicate this, Fred?"

He stared at her in disbelief. "As I recall, you didn't exactly tell me to stop," he huffed.

She nodded in agreement; there was no denying that much. "Now what?" she asked.

"That's your call I suppose. My vote is for another kiss," he said with a smirk, leaning back against the wall, crossing his arms once more. "You can't just kiss me like _that_ and tell me you don't want me."

She couldn't help but smile as she moved closer to him, this time standing on her toes to meet his lips. Fred smiled into the kiss as his arms snaked around her waist drawing her even more close to his body.

"What the bloody hell do you two think you're doing?" a voice echoed through the corridor.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did everyone think? I have a few future chapters written, and I'm really excited to get there. Review please! I love advice and/or criticism! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione sprung away from Fred as though she had just touched a hot stovetop, her eyes widening as she saw a figure striding toward them. In the darkness of the approaching sunset, it was difficult to see just who it was, but there was no mistaking that shrill voice and the click of heels against the stone floor. Out of all the teachers to possibly catch them, it had to be _her_.

It was absolutely no secret that the entire school hated that vile woman, Hermione included. Still, she had tried her best to stay within Umbridge's good graces to avoid one of her now infamous detentions. Brave as she was, she would have taken one in stride, but one would have to be a complete fool to go looking for one. She cursed her body as her face began to flush from the embarrassment of what she was actually caught doing in public. Not to be mistaken for a prude, Hermione felt that all displays of affection should be in private, though Fred brought something new out of her that she couldn't deny.

She felt Fred's large hand slowly grasp her own and pull her back toward him protectively as Umbridge finally stood in front of them. Risking a glance at him, she wasn't stunned by what she saw, but actually rather frightened. The Weasleys had all but mastered the subtle art of a withering glare, and Fred was giving all that she had ever seen a run for their money.

"That was simply _vile_," Umbridge began lecturing, "And I hope you both understand that you were both clearly violating Educational Decree Number Forty-Seven, stating that boys and girls shall not be within eight inches of each other. I do believe a detention is in order for you both. I should expect better from you, Miss Granger. My office tomorrow, five o'clock. As for you, Mr. Weasley, I shall be deducting seventy-five points from Gryffindor and your detention shall be served tomorrow at five o'clock as well. I trust you both know that I shall be supplying the quills."

When Umbridge turned to leave, Hermione finally felt herself release the breath she had been holding the entire time. She also didn't realize that she had been shaking until Fred pulled her into his arms, stroking her back gently. He smelled of some cologne, though she couldn't place exactly what it was, but the scent was marvelous.

"I really hate that old bat," he said finally. Hermione merely nodded against his chest in agreement. She pushed herself and looked up at his face, only to start laughing. "What?"

"All year, I have managed to sneak about the castle with Harry and Ron, never to be caught and given detention by Umbridge. One moment with you, however, and my record is gone to the dogs. Ironic, don't you think?" she managed through her laughs, "You really are a horrible influence, Fred Weasley."

He returned her laughter with a grin of his own. Hearing Hermione laugh made his heart pound in his ears. He thought once of trying another kiss, but thought better of it. _"I probably shouldn't push my luck with her so much in one night,"_ he reasoned, but it was difficult to fight the desire. Instead, he took her hand again, placing a light kiss on the top before grinning once more.

"Perhaps we should just head back to the tower for tonight," Hermione suggested, a smile creeping onto her own lips. She pulled her hand slowly out of his, "Though maybe not together yet."

"Are we back to that now?" Fred asked with a groan.

"I just don't think that now is the time to be together, and we even if we were, I don't think we should spring it suddenly on some people." Hermione gazed at him deeply, hoping that he would understand to whom she was referring.

Ron wouldn't be able to take this change so easily. She couldn't go from reassuring him one week that she harbored no romantic feelings for Fred to snogging him in the corner of the common room the next. She found herself to be quite surprised at how quickly her feelings had shifted from one brother to the next, however, and that truly worried her. How could it be that simple?

There was of course the option that she had never really felt as strongly toward Ron as she once though. Another could be that she was _supposed_ to be with Fred. The one she feared was that she was going through a phase. Fred was giving her the attention she craved so severely, so she was reciprocating his feelings subconsciously without even meaning them.

Fred sighed as he stuffed his hands deep within his trouser pockets. He had honestly had every intention of walking into the common room with Hermione. He had wanted to be open about their budding relationship, but she clearly didn't feel the same way.

"You know, Hermione. I'm starting to feel like this is your game and your rules and I can't win."

She touched his arm gingerly, as she looked into his deep eyes. They were beautifully blue, dark blue like midnight at the ocean, and it was increasingly difficult for her not to lose her thoughts when she gazed into them. "That's not what I meant at all."

"I guess I don't know what you meant," Fred said, anger growing in his voice, "I don't care about hurting precious Ron's feelings. He thinks you belong to him, you know. Like you're just going to sit and pine for him while he's chasing everything with legs. I didn't peg you for that type of girl, Hermione."

Her mouth fell open at his words. She had never known Ron had spoken of her that way. Surely Fred was exaggerating because of his anger and jealousy.

"You know I'm not 'that type of girl.' I want to take things slowly because I really think I want to be with you. Mucking things up by parading around the common room inviting nosy sods into our business is not the way to start off," she explained, becoming frustrated. This is exactly why she had never bothered with boys in the first place: they always figured out a way to mess things up. She thought of continuing her explanation, but decided better. If this was how he was going to be then she shouldn't even give him the satisfaction. Instead, she spun on her heel and started off toward the Gryffindor tower, not looking back.

She heard quick footsteps approaching behind her and couldn't fight the smug smile creeping onto her lips. Fred grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop. She tried to shake him off, but his grip held firm. She looked at him expectantly, noticing his hold was just a bit too tight.

"First off, I'm not going to apologize for what I said. It's the truth." He rolled his eyes, which only infuriated her more. "And I want you to know I'm not willing to stay as your dirty little secret forever, but for now, I suppose I will."

Fred pulled her into a quick embrace before they started off toward the common room, once more, together, seemingly still as friends to everyone else. They entered together, though no one thought anything of it since they had done the same thing for the past several weeks and bets were still being placed on their so-called relationship. Hermione whispered her goodbye to him for the night, blushing then scowling when he reached forward to squeeze her hand. He only grinned, knowing she wouldn't say anything to cause a scene. He watched her run upstairs, and went to join Lee and George on the couch in front of the fire.

"Well someone looks rather pleased, don't you think, George," Lee remarked, smirking.

"Indeed," George agreed, "Just what have you been up to tonight?"

Fred merely shrugged, not willing to give into their jests. "Got a detention from old toad face, but what else is new?"

George leaned forward, "Not what we meant. You were out later than usual. How'd you keep Hermione out past her bedtime, Freddie? Not doing anything I wouldn't do, were you?"

Fred smacked his brother's arm hard. "Not funny," he said maliciously.

George rubbed his arm while Lee said, "Calm down, Fred. It's all in good fun."

"No, it's not. It was hard enough to get her to give me a chance, and I will not have the two of you mucking it up by saying that she's easy because she will think it was me."

George and Lee exchanged a quick, amused glace. "He's whipped," Lee said finally, laughing.

George joined in on the laughter while Fred only scowled. "Who'd have thought that little prude would have finally done it?" he said between laughs.

Fred stood up angrily and marched up to his dorm, climbing into bed without bothering to change his clothes. He couldn't sleep in his present fury, and still found it difficult an hour later when George and Lee came up to bed. He pretended to be asleep or at least not hear when George said his name. Fred Weasley was _not_ whipped; he had found a girl that had more to her than general aesthetics that seemed to actually like him for more than a good fling. It was a hard thing to come by, and for some reason, he did care deeply about Hermione. He finally found sleep when he calmed down when he thought of their first kiss earlier that day.

The next morning Hermione awoke early to finish her homework that Fred had delayed her on. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts and she couldn't risk upsetting Umbridge any more than she already had. Upon finishing her essay, she went to breakfast to find Fred and George already there sitting with Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and a few others than she didn't recognize.

_They must be more Weasley twin admirers_, she thought bitterly. Seeing other girls moon over the twins really did make her jealous, though not so much of George. Fred was always the more flirtatious of the two, and today was no different. She bit into her toast rather forcefully when he kissed one of the blundering girl's hand, which caused the entire group to erupt into giggles. Telling herself not to look, she instead focused on reading the Daily Prophet, which was once again discrediting Dumbledore and Harry for their lies. This was just too much to take.

Hermione threw down the paper and grabbed her bag to storm away when a familiar blonde girl took a seat next to her. Hermione ran her hand over her forehead, pushing her hair out of her eyes before forcing a smile. She would at least be civil. After all, it wasn't Luna's fault that the world was so ridiculous.

"Good morning, Luna. Sleep well."

"Quite," Luna answered, taking some scrambled eggs from the serving dish, "The Nargles have finally stopped stealing my shoes. Strangely, some of my protective jewelry is now missing."

"That's awful. I hope you find it." Such pleasantries were not easy right now, especially when she tried to avoid glancing over at Fred once more.

"No worries. I'm sure it will turn up. Everything always has a way of turning right in the end."

Hermione merely nodded in agreement then stood up. "I'm sorry to dash, Luna, but I really must be leaving."

Luna looked up at her with a smile that was slightly unnerving. "Is it true what I hear about you and Fred Weasley? I'm not much for gossip, you know, but in these past few minutes, he has looked over here at least fifty times."

Hermione stared at Luna in amazement. She truly appreciated the girl's blunt honesty most of the time, and she really was a bright girl when one chose to look past her eccentricities. Hermione stole a glance over her shoulder to find Fred staring. She turned around blushing when he winked at her.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about Luna," Hermione whispered, unable to fight a smile.

"Funny how many people say that to me in one day," Luna remarked, staring off into space. Hermione merely nodded, now very uncomfortable. She said her goodbye to Luna then turned to leave.

Part of her expected to hear Fred hurrying to catch up with her, and this part was left disappointed. True, she had told him that she wanted to take things slow, but she still wanted to walk to classes with him. This was where her inexperience was getting the best of her. She didn't know _how_ to be a girlfriend, having only a few movies to base her actions on. Hermione knew that he was just doing what she had told him she wanted, but since when did Fred Weasley do what anyone wanted him to do? Still, she did her best to push him from her mind as she went through the comforting routine of her daily classes.

At five o'clock sharp, she went to Umbridge's office and found her sitting calmly in her chair, drinking her evening tea. Hermione did her best to hide the disgust she felt for a woman who could be sit by so at ease when she was about to torture two students.

"Good evening, Miss Granger. I thought Mr. Weasley would be accompanying you," Umbridge said as she stood. She waved her wand and two desks appeared. Laying a sheet of parchment and a quill on each, she told Hermione to sit when the door opened and Fred walked in. "You're late. Twenty points from Gryffindor. No sit. I want you both to write 'I shall maintain proper decorum in the corridors.' There will be no stopping until I instruct you to do so. Is that understood?"

Both nodded and began writing. The room was silent the rest of the detention, only broken by occasional gasps, mostly from Hermione, when the pain became too much to bear. It was six thirty before Umbridge finally gave in and let them leave. Fred grabbed his belongings angrily then strode over to Hermione. He gently took her book bag from her shoulder, placed it onto his own, then took her uninjured hand and let her from the room, pointedly glaring at the toad-like woman.

He didn't stop walking until they were inside the Gryffindor common room. Most people stopped what they were doing to see who had entered then turned to whisper and gossip to each other.

"Let me see your hand, love," he said gently after telling a few people just where they could shove their whispers. His eyes darkened when she raised her hand into his and he saw the red marks. She winced when he ran his thumb over the raised edges of the words she had been instructed to write.

"I'll kill that bloody beast," he murmured darkly.

"It really isn't that bad; just stings a bit," she said, forcing the pain from her face as best as she could. She tried to smile when he looked at her disbelieving. "Really, Fred; it's not that bad."

He scoffed and dropped her hand, glancing at his own to see it was still fire-red. "Do you still have that stuff you put on Harry's hand?" She nodded. "Good. Go put some on your hand then go to bed. I need to discuss with George just what we are going to do about that woman; she has been here far too long."

Hermione started to protest, saying that he shouldn't make her any angrier than possible and to let Dumbledore handle it. Fred shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face. He leaned forward so only she could hear him when he whispered a small threat.

"Go upstairs and tend to that hand, otherwise I will kiss you right here and give these nosy morons something to talk about. You can lecture me all you want in the morning."

She shook her head, frizzy curls bouncing, and then bounded up the stairs, but not without turning around to glare at Fred one last time. He chuckled before ascending the stairs to his own room, expecting to find George. Surprised that his twin was not in bed, he sat down on his and began to change into his pajamas. He fell back onto his bed, still thinking of Hermione and how to best get Umbridge sacked. With a few good pranks written down, he finally fell asleep.

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><p><strong>AN: Longest chapter yet! Who's excited? I hope everyone liked it. Don't worry, I plan on this picking up soon, but it's not going to be so fluffy that you want to vomit. Please review; it makes me so happy to get feedback!**


	6. Chapter 6

It was dark. So dark that Fred could hardly see his hand in front of his face. The place was cold, so cold that he found himself shivering. This place was vaguely familiar. He should know where he was, but somehow he didn't. After taking a tentative step forward, he wished that the lights would come on, just so he could see where he was. It felt as though that would help him understand. What he needed to understand however, he had no idea.

Suddenly there was a giggle from far away. He knew it was female, and part of him knew who it was. He tried to run toward the sound, but he could never make it. It gradually became lighter in the space, but he still couldn't reach the giggling girl, though he stopped tripping now. He felt himself yelling for her, pleading with her to come back, but no sound actually left his lips. Then her scream caused him to quicken his pace into a full sprint. She kept screaming, and no matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't come and he couldn't catch her. He needed to help her, protect her.

"Fred? Fred, wake up!" A voice hissed in his ear while a hand shook his arm. He groaned and lazily swatted the hand away. It was the middle of the night, and he was not going to be woken up for some practical joke. He was only shaken more violently in response. Somewhere along the way, he realized that George was the one trying to awaken him. Fred groaned again and pulled the blankets over his head.

That was just a dream, or more like a nightmare. His hair was matted to his sweaty forehead, his closed eyes holding back the tears that were threatening to break free. He found that his breathing was quite heavy as he tried to collect himself. Maybe this was a dream too. The other dream felt just as real as this.

"You have to get up! Something's wrong with Dad!"

Fred groaned once more before propping himself up on his elbows. He shook his head at the dream-George, his long hair falling around his face. "No, Dad's fine. Now please let me go back to the other dream."

A sharp slap was his only response this time. "Bloody hell, you twit!" Fred exclaimed, clutching his stinging cheek.

George grinned only slightly, before it disappeared again. "Get up, now. We have to go to Dumbledore. Harry said there was something wrong with Dad. And put something on over those pajamas; we don't want McGonagall to jump you."

Fred threw a pillow at the door as George closed it. Quite a delayed reaction, but he had just woken up from a deep sleep, and he was still reeling with its effects. Climbing out of bed and pulling on his dressing gown, he moved toward the door to leave his warm bed for some new havoc; he really was getting tired of this.

Following McGonagall through the dark corridors of the castle, he couldn't help but appreciate the irony of the situation. Normally, when he and George were caught sneaking out, she was the one to catch them, though she had become quite lenient the past few times. Both twins thought it was probably because she knew of their constant torture with the toad woman.

Ginny was nervously clutching his arm the whole way to the headmaster's office. He could feel her body shaking, though it really could have been his own; he couldn't tell with her tight grip. Everything was just so hazy. When the four entered Dumbledore's office, he wasn't surprised to see Ron and Harry already there. Fred couldn't help but think how strange the two of them looked without Hermione standing by their sides.

He listened silently as Dumbledore and Harry told them what happened to his father, absently rubbing Ginny's hair comfortingly as George did the same on her other side. Feeling tears welling up in his eyes, he quickly looked downward, not wanting anyone to see him weak. Even Ginny wasn't crying, though she had never been much of a crier anyway. She was still shaking however, and there was nothing he could do about it. There were only a few things in this world that he hated that were completely out of his control; comforting his little sister in situations like these was one of them.

When Dumbledore told the Weasley siblings they would be leaving first thing in the morning, he simply nodded, grabbed Ginny by the arm and pulled her into an embrace, whispering that everything was going to be okay in her ear. If Fred ever absolutely had to rank his siblings for favorites, Ginny would fall second only to George. They walked back to the tower the same way they had came.

When they stopped in the common room, Fred hugged his sister one last time before she turned to her other two 'blood' brothers and 'for-all-intents-and-purposes' brother for a hug from each of them. They boys smiled encouragingly at her as she made her way to the girls' dormitory stairs.

"Do you really think Dad will be ok?" Ginny asked quietly, not turning around to face them. Fred suspected he knew why.

He and George shared a glace before striding over to their baby sister, taking her gently by each arm and directing her toward the sofa. They said down together as Ginny laid her head on George's chest, her body heaving with silent sobs. That really broke his heart. Sometimes he forgot that she was only fourteen, still quite a baby, not literally, of course.

Fred placed his arm around Ginny's shoulders as she cried into George's chest. He felt Ron sit at his feet, reclining backwards on Fred's knees, and he noticed Harry doing the same at George's feet. No one knew what to say, and everything sounded quite dumb in his head. There was nothing to say to make this situation any better. Fred lifted his wand from his pocket as easily as possible and pointed it to the fireplace to start a fire. He suspected they were going to be here a while.

The next morning Hermione woke up bitterly cold. There was something about cold weather that seemed to bring out the worst in her; or maybe it was just her present circumstances. She reached down to clutch her blankets closer to her body, trying her best to stall getting out of her fairly warm bed to the chilly stone of the castle. She could hear Lavender snoring quietly next to her, and she was almost lulled back to sleep by the familiarity of the noise. Back when she was a first year, it got on her nerves, but now she had grown accustomed to the sound, and even welcomed it.

She chuckled lightly thinking of how mundane it was to be thinking of her roommate's snores just so she wouldn't have to get out of bed. Still, Hermione knew that she would have to brave the cold bite of December at some point; she had classes to get to. Quickly, she threw her blankets off her body, shivering from the chill, grabbed her uniform and robe for the day, and hurried into the lavatory to dress.

Knowing that procrastination had gotten the better of her this morning, she hurried so she would not keep Harry and Ron waiting. Everyone knew how ravenous Ron was when it came to a meal. After a quick glance in the mirror and a few charms for her hair, she was ready, and rushed down the stairs, only to be perplexed to not find the boys waiting for her. _They must have gone on without me. Gits_, she thought.

Hermione made her way through the corridors toward the Great Hall for breakfast, pausing to say hello to a few familiar faces. When she finally made it to her destination, she was once again greeted by confusion. There wasn't a Weasley red hair or a jet-black head to be seen. She decided to just ask instead of standing around foolishly.

"Good morning, Dean, Seamus," she greeted cordially, "Have you seen Harry or Ron this morning?"

"Morning, Hermione," Seamus answered. He still wasn't one of her favorite people considering how poorly he had treated Harry lately.

"No, we haven't," Dean said, "They were already gone when we got up this morning."

"Oh, well thank you anyway."

"But Professor McGonagall did tell us that she wanted to talk to you when we saw you. She said it was urgent," Seamus informed her. Now there was some news that she could work with.

She nodded before saying, "Thank you again. See you in Charms later."

Hermione turned to leave to seek out Professor McGonagall. What on earth was going on? Something wasn't right; she could feel it in her blood. She turned a corner, inwardly groaning on whom she had stumbled upon.

"Going somewhere, Granger?" Draco Malfoy asked, leaning against the wall.

"It's none of your business, Malfoy," she sneered. Now was not the time to be dealing with this annoyance.

"Watch your tongue, Granger. I am a member of the Inquisitorial Squad," Malfoy stated, a smug smile on his lips.

"Frankly, I don't give a damn. Now, move."

"Testy, testy, Granger," he said, stepping in her way as she attempted to go around him, "Where's Potter and Weasel to defend you?"

"I'm going to repeat: it's none of your business. Now, get out of my way," she hissed.

Malfoy opened his mouth once more, but stopped when he heard heels clicking on the stone of the corridor.

"Ah, there you are, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said before turning to Malfoy to say, "Don't you have a class to get to, Mr. Malfoy?"

He sneered at Hermione before turning away. She looked up at Professor McGonagall, her eyes filled with annoyance from Malfoy and worry about everything else. "What's going on, Professor? Where are Harry and Ron?"

"Please follow me to my office. I shall explain there."

Hermione nodded as her teacher turned and led the way to the office. They entered, and Hermione took a seat in the chair before the desk as McGonagall indicated with her hand.

"What's going on, Professor?" she repeated after refusing the offers of tea and biscuits.

McGonagall sighed before sitting in the chair opposite Hermione. "Something grave has happened, Miss Granger. It seems that Arthur Weasley was attacked last night." Hermione opened her mouth to inquire about his condition when McGonagall held up her hand. "I've been told his condition is stable. Nevertheless, Mr. Potter was the one who witnessed the attack, though unfortunately I cannot explain to you how. He and the rest of the Weasleys left early this morning for St. Mungos."

As Hermione took in this new information, she couldn't help but become angry. She continued to nod as McGonagall spoke to her, her frustration only building each second. She couldn't understand why she was _just now_ being told about Mr. Weasley.

Hermione bit her lower lip. "So why wasn't I told about this too? Mr. Weasley is just as much a surrogate father to me as he is to Harry. I worry about him too. When can I join them? I want to be there."

Professor McGonagall smiled sadly at the young girl. "Unfortunately, Miss Granger, you cannot join them until the scheduled beginning of the holidays."

"I don't believe this!" Hermione exclaimed, instantly regretting it. She must be losing her mind to speak this way to a teacher. "Forgive me, Professor."

"It is quite alright, dear. I understand your frustration. Professor Dumbledore had enough trouble with allowing Mr. Potter to go with the Weasley children with his diminishing authority over the school."

Hermione nodded, knowing quite well as to what Professor McGonagall was referring to. When Umbridge had sacked Professor Trelawney, the entire school witnessed it. And although she had never been a fan of Trelawney, she thought it was entirely barbaric and heartless how public that even was made into.

After excusing herself for her next class, Hermione left and went about her day as usual taking her notes for homework over holidays. The day was perfectly mundane. Still, she had never realized quite how dull Hogwarts was when she never saw or spoke to her two best friends or any other Weasley for that matter.

Other than missing Harry and Ron, she was mildly surprised that she missed Fred. His company had become comforting to her, and she missed how he would sit with her while she completed her homework and he only pretended to be working. Getting her mind off that kiss was another matter. That was impossible. Not only did she thoroughly enjoy it, somehow it felt _right_. She liked the way his hands had held her close, how he had taken the lead so she wouldn't have to. Now she understood what her peers were always talking about; it was positively magnetic, and Hermione wanted more.

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><p><strong>AN: Don't hate me; I needed a little bit of a filler chapter. I _promise_ that I'll make it up to all of you next chapter! I love all the reviews; thank you all so much! And for those of you who just add me to your alerts and favorites lists, I love you just the same. Anyway, I feel like I should tell you all that it may be a week or a little longer for the next chapter, but it will be up. If it takes a while, don't worry! I have no intention of abandoning this story because I have _tons_ of ideas! Review and tell me what you think, please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you all so much for being so patient with me! My life is so entirely hectic right now and it's really hard to function properly. Starting college is a real pain to get used to. Just beware, this chapter is super cute and fluffy, but I think we needed it just a little.**

Christmas at Grimmauld Place was a sober affair to say the least. Everyone tried to keep the merriment alive, but it was just too difficult. Mr. Weasley had barely escaped a horrific fate, and being in such a dismal place made it difficult to even pretend to be happy. Hermione had arrived not long after the scheduled end of term with the help of Professor Dumbledore. Even though she was still not used to side-along apparition, she couldn't help but feel grateful toward him in getting her there as quickly as possible.

She still also couldn't help but be just a little angry with her friends who had left without her. As she stated before, Mr. Weasley's wellbeing was just as important to her as it could be to Harry and she couldn't understand why someone hadn't spoken up about it. Even the owls from Harry, Ginny, and Fred didn't make her any less upset about the situation. So, in lieu of being with her friends, she decided to once again help Sirius clean his long-forgotten house, just so she could get her point across to them. In all honesty, she wasn't exactly _angry_ so much as she was hurt.

Cleaning with Sirius turned out to be quite relaxing to her. Placing things in boxes and garbage bags was so mundane that it became comforting. It probably helped that they didn't speak much, with the exception of occasionally asking him of something she wasn't sure of keeping or not, so she could easily let her mind wander, and it always seemed to rest on two completely unrelated topics. The first was Voldemort and how he was gaining momentum rapidly; the other was her confusion for Fred.

It still made absolutely no sense to her. They argued frequently, but he could always make her laugh in the end. She hated how immature he could be, but he really was quite intelligent with his and George's inventions. He could be quite rash and had a temper, but he always seemed to direct that temper toward who deserved it. Every single time that she came up with a negative characteristic of Fred a positive and redeeming quality always followed it. She had thrown out her lists about whether or not a relationship would work between them a few days ago since nothing was making sense right now. She was sure of two things concerning her so-called relationship with Fred: he seemed to like her for some unknown, incomprehensible reason, and no matter how much she tried to deny or suppress it, she felt something _special_ for him.

"Well, I'm beat," Sirius stated suddenly, leaning back against his ankles as he sat back up after leaning over to look under a cabinet. "I think we should at least take a break for a while."

Hermione nodded and made to get up. Perhaps she could go work on some of her homework that Snape had given her over the holidays. "I could take these boxes to your room, if you'd like, Sirius," she offered, already bending down to take them with her before he even accepted the offer.

On her way up the stairs, she passed by the room the twins shared. A loud crash came from inside. She merely shook her head disapprovingly, though a small smile formed on her lips. Maybe she should just talk to Fred. After all, they never really did get a chance to talk about what happened. Maybe in his world, he could kiss someone then never speak to them again, but not in her world. Hermione Granger needed solid facts from such events. She placed the boxes on the landing, and then turned around to march to the door before she lost her nerve. Dealing with boys always made her so nervous. Actually, dealing with people made her nervous. People had so many variables to consider when dealing with them, and it became quite confusing for her, which was why she never really had many friends.

Hermione knocked lightly on the door so she wouldn't disturb Mrs. Black, but loud enough that it could still be heard inside. She took another deep breath as she took a small step away from the door. Again, she couldn't help but smile when she heard rather loud rustling from inside. When the door opened, it took her a moment to figure out just which twin it was.

"False alarm," he called behind him, "It's just Hermione."

George took a step away from the door to allow Hermione to allow her inside. Fred poked his head out from the closet where he was attempting to cram several boxes inside.

"Why don't you just shrink the boxes so they will fit better? It's quite a simple charm," she suggested.

George smirked at Fred, who returned it equally amused. "Are you helping us break the rules, Granger?" Fred asked as he climbed over a few more boxes.

"If I would have known that this would be the outcome, I would have told you to snog her a long time ago, Freddie," George said with a laugh.

Hermione felt her face going red as she pursed her lips. "You_ told_ him?" she hissed at Fred, "I thought we explicitly agreed to keep that between us.

George looked between his twin and Hermione as he slowly edged toward the door. "Right, well, I'm going to leave now because this is just too bloody awkward," he said before hurrying out the door and closing it behind him.

"Why on earth would you tell him?" Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "I cannot believe that you couldn't even keep this to yourself. I should have expected that you would tell George, but somehow I hoped you wouldn't. Silly me."

Fred couldn't help but smile at her tirade; it was quite adorable. "If you would stop talking for one second, you crazy bird, I would tell you that I didn't tell George anything. He saw it."

Hermione felt her jaw drop slightly and she pressed her fingertips to her left temple. She closed her eyes and inhaled softly. He was right; she did need to calm down sometimes. She walked over to the nearest bed, though she didn't know just whose it was, and sat down near the end of the bed away from the pillows. She didn't need to ask how George saw, not that she already knew, but she could figure it out. Those two knew every way in, out, and around Hogwarts, so it made sense that they would both stumble upon different happenings occasionally.

"Why do you want me?" she asked suddenly, "I can't figure it out."

Fred smiled once more before striding quickly over to the bed and taking a seat next to her. "It's those dangerously tempting, shapeless sweaters you wear," he responded simply.

Hermione looked up at his stoic face and broke into laughter. Once her laughs subsided and normal breathing had returned, she pulled herself further onto the bed and crossed her legs, completely facing Fred now. Although the laughter had stopped, she was still grinning broadly.

"I'm being serious. Why?"

"Would 'I just do' be enough for you?" She shook her head, brown curls bouncing. "I thought not. If I answer this, you have to answer a question of mine."

Hermione considered before nodding slowly, knowing that she probably would not want to answer any question Fred had. Fred ran his hand through his short hair and rubbed the side of his face as he thought how to best answer her question.

"I don't know how to answer this, Hermione, other than 'I just do.' Little things that you do drive me mad. Like the past few weeks in the library with you when you would get frustrated with your hair always falling in your face. Like when you smile when you scold me and George for our pranks. Like how you don't follow what the other girls are doing; I don't think I've ever heard you gossip. And those shapeless sweaters honestly do drive me nutters."

Hermione took all of this in, only nodding and grinning slightly every now and then. She looked down at the quilt on the bed, watching as her fingers played with the design. She looked back up at Fred to see him nervous, searching her face for some kind of response to what he had just admitted.

She smiled at him before leaning forward, propping her body up on her hands as she placed a light kiss on his lips. Fred responded by cupping her face in his hands, pulling her face closer to his. Hermione finally pulled away before he pulled her back, closer to him. She felt him pull her down on top of him as his hands slid from her face to her sides, finally resting on her hips. The sensation his hands left behind made her shiver. Finally breaking back into reality, she realized what was happening: she was lying on top of a boy on his bed. Hermione placed her hands on Fred's shoulders before pushing away. His hair was in disarray from her hands, and she couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. She could only imagine what she looked like.

Hermione sat up slowly so she wouldn't crush him, her knee brushing up against something quite hard. She gasped realizing what the object was. "Godric, Fred, can't you control yourself?"

He grinned back to her, propping himself up on his elbows. "You were the one grinding your hips against me."

"I was not!" She exclaimed, fighting the blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Yes, actually you were. No need to be embarrassed, Hermione. This is quite a natural, human reaction."

"I know _that_. But couldn't you just control yourself, or get rid of _it_ or something?"

Fred smirked once more before shaking his head. "Don't think this gets you out of answering my question."

Hermione sighed as she straightened her sweater, still embarrassed by what had just occurred. Fred sat up too, pulling a pillow around from behind his back to cover his lap. She found herself to be a little irritated that he wouldn't stop smirking at her.

"All right. What is it?"

"Why are you so ashamed that you're attracted to me?"

Hermione bit her lower lip before shaking her head. "I'm not."

"Always denying what you know to be true. Why?"

"I'm not ashamed."

"Then why are you insisting that we keep this a secret?"

"I told you that it would just make things more complicated than they need to be. If we invite people into our business, then it will just cause trouble. I don't want that, Fred."

Fred contemplated that answer for a moment before nodding. "So, you're afraid of what people will think. That's just another way to say that you're ashamed. _Why_?"

"I don't know why!" Hermione exploded. She had been thinking of this lately too, and she was hoping that he hadn't noticed. Of course, she had only been kidding herself. "I _am _attracted to you! I _do_ want to be with you! I _am_ afraid of what people will think of this! I'm afraid that something will happen and you won't want me anymore" This last sentence came out in barely more than a whisper. That old cliché about how the truth will set you free had to be something a fool would say because right now Hermione felt like rubbish.

She felt Fred lean forward as she had done and kiss her lightly on the lips, though she pulled back faster this time so it wouldn't get as, shall we say, heated this time.

"Not going to happen," Fred said, looking directly into Hermione's eyes. And she was shocked to find that she believed him.

**A/N: So there you go, chapter 7. What did you think? Questions, comments, and concerns are so helpful! Is there anything you guys would like to see next? I have quite a few chapters written for later in the story, but nothing written for what's coming immediately next. I would love your input! Review, please! And please be patient with me again; I'm going to try my best to get this next chapter out quickly.**


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